The kingdom was ending. This much she knew. The Evil Queen-she trembled as just the shadow of her name crossed her thoughts- had somehow returned, and not made a single demand before taking that which she treasured most. When her parents had not been enough to stir her fear into action, the queen had returned and taken the only treasure in the kingdom that she could never willingly surrender. Her son. And so she had no recourse except to do the unthinkable. She took the only things she could think of that might have some value to him, packed up her saddle bag, trying to get over her terror of the horse she was now planning on mounting. Time was of the essence and her carriage would be too slow, though she had never travelled by any other method than that and on her own two feet. But after a few seconds delay, in which she tried to master the beating of her heart and quell the tears that would not seem to stop falling, she pulled herself up off the mounting block and onto the mighty beast. The gentle creature seemed to sense both her terror and her sorrow, for it remained perfectly still, and allowed the innocent soul astride him to settle before carefully beginning to move forward out of the stables. Thankful that her mother's ability to commune with animals was something she had partially inherited- the thought made her tears pour afresh down her ashen white face- she managed to choke out her request to the animal between broken sobs. The horse flicked his ears in surprise and no small amount of alarm, but then dipped his head with a whicker. Like the humans of this kingdom, he too loved and respected his rulers, and so knew it was his obligation to escort the lady astride him to her requested destination. He waited for her to grip the reins before speeding up, his glistening black coat shimmering as the light refracted off his perfectly kept mane and shining nearly as brightly as his ocean blue eyes.
